Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear partners,

I’m pleased to be here with you today and jointly reflect on delivering of digital services in a timely, efficient, and transparent manner by the public sector in a way which  meets citizens’ expectations in improving quality of life, doing business and saving time and money. The COVID-19 crisis nudged us all to engage more with digital content, with the private sector leading the way in uptake of digital services, globally and in Montenegro alike. 

Our survey on the attitudes towards e-services among citizens and businesses tells 52% of citizens and 64% of businesses having confidence in the security of the e-services, and high levels of satisfaction with those services. Also, the digital literacy has been growing – with almost two-thirds of respondents saying that they have mid or high-level skills in using the internet.

At the same time, citizens now want better government services - expecting speed, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness - including single-point access for multiple services. That said, compliance with data protection and safeguards remain non-negotiable.

Combined, all of this offers the government and public administration a momentum to redesign its interactions with citizens and related business processes through exploitation of full potential digital technology offers today.

To accomplish this, the public sector must not only prioritize new technologies, or invest in innovation, but also continue to inspire change – from inside out and outside in – alike.

Digital transformation is about treating new technologies as a means to an end – be it  reimagining of governance or organizational interactions, which are more often than not determined by our culture, and mindset. The reason why some digital transformations fail or do not progress at speed is rarely technological. Most of the time it is related to the people dimension - so it must involve a deeper understanding of the human side of change - helping address existing inequalities, while avoiding the risk of creating new ones.

This requires a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation needs to be supported by an adequate policy, institutional setting, and infrastructure while making sure that it delivers not only for tech-savvy urban dwellers, but is set up by default with needs of vulnerable groups in mind -  be it women, youth or elderly citizens in rural areas or persons with disabilities. The test to citizen-centered digital services  of any government is the ability of great majority of citizens to avail of them on equal footing.

For us in UNDP, digital transformation should serve not only to provide services faster, and at lower cost but have an ambition to also bridge the digital divide and accelerate human development through the changing world of work, strengthening systems of education and innovation and inspiring trust , openness and transparency of  public administration.

In order to strengthen institutions’ ability to address future challenges, recover from compounded shocks, and gain the public trust, support to the transformation of institutions based on adaptive, effective and open governance principles - at both national and local governance systems - is the only way forward. 

In partnership with the Government of Montenegro and EU, UNDP is committed to continuesupporting development of digital services based on peoples’ needs, efficiently addressing risks of their  digital exclusion and turning digital access challenges into opportunities that will make Montenegro thrive.